Notes for Sun Mar 22 + The Merritt Awards

Hi everyone,

Due to the snowstorm last week, the rehearsal plan from the 15th has now shifted to this Sunday, March 22nd. We are going to add in a half hour at the end to prep for the Merritt Awards on Monday night.

1:15  Warmups
1:35  Finish Noviori Ani choreography
2:15  Choreo notes for MNIOP & Snowforms
2:45  Run MNIOP + Snowforms + Noviori Ani
3:15  Break
3:30  Fundraising!
3:40  Womanly Song of God + Nukapianguaq choreography
5:00  Pakkanen - for Merritt Awards

Sop 1s are on snack!!

Merritt Awards - Mon Mar 23

Schedule:

5:30  Call
6:00  Rehearsal
7:00  Doors open - we are in the green room for at least part of this
7:57  Performance
8:00  Done!

Location: Casino NS - Schooner Showroom

We will be using the Schooner Boardroom as the green room (opposite the Showroom)

We will be wearing our black tunics, leggings, and boots. Hair should be nice and off your face. Makeup needs to be subtle enough that you can blend into a crowd, but enough colour on your lips etc that you will look good when we perform. Everyone will need to have their coat with them as we will be dropping them on cue at the beginning of our performance. There are still some details related to the performance that will be worked out in the venue on Monday night, so we will just have to be flexible and go with the flow!!

FYI - All has been cleared with the Casino so that anyone 19+ will be able to perform on Monday.

Countdown Video Shoot Info!

Hi everyone,

A few updates for the Countdown video shoot this weekend. As some of you may know, Heather Fraser's father passed away last week. Heather is a dear friend to some of us and a former Xara singer. The funeral is this Saturday afternoon in Wolfville, and I and a few other singers would really like to attend to support Heather and her family. With that in mind, I have pushed the Countdown video to the MORNING of Saturday March 14th. Hopefully most of you can still make it!!!

The plan:

Location: DANSpace-on-Grafton, 1531 Grafton St. (third floor)

9:00 am    Set up (Claire + Denique)
10:00 am  Filming (all of Xara)
12:00 pm  Done!

Since we will be there from 9am onward, feel free to come a bit early if you like to get settled in so we are ready to start shooting at 10.

Wardrobe:

blue jeans
white crew neck tshirt

Hair should look nice and off your face (up or down is fine), and make up should be simple film-ready.

This is going to be super fun and we are really excited to have this as promo for our album launch!! Thank you so much to those of you who can make it. Any questions, let me know.

Notes for Sunday March 15

Hi everyone,

Great rehearsal on Sunday! So awesome to see Noviori Ani coming to life with choreography as well as some great progress on our other pieces!

Some info for this Sunday's rehearsal (separate blog post coming for the filming this Saturday March 14)!

Sop 1s are on snack!

Schedule:

1:15  Warmups
1:35  Finish Noviori Ani choreography
2:15  Choreo notes for MNIOP & Snowforms
2:45  Run MNIOP + Snowforms + Noviori Ani
3:15  Break
3:30  Fundraising!
3:40  Womanly Song of God + Nukapianguaq choreography!

Please review Erin's excellent notes and videos, especially if you have missed any rehearsals over the last few weeks.

Looking forward to making some awesome progress and hopefully having the entire show blocked by the end of this weekend!!!

Erin’s Notes from March 8th

Noviori Ani Choreo - Video

During the transition after Snowforms, hold in place in the big U

M 3 – 6 – Sops step forward, Altos go behind, walk in single file lines past each other to the opposite side of the stage. Look toward the center.  VERY SLOW WALK

Arrive in places by the end of Lisa’s text and look forward.  (“…My other braid fell to the floor to meet the first, and I joined the others in their weeping.”)

We might add an extra 11 & 12 after the repeat. TBD based on text.

“There we stood, sobbing in the humiliation of our discarded hair.” – drop heads to look at the floor.

Break for text: “One of the nuns said something… I held my breath, scared of what might come next.” On I held my breath, heads up.

M. 13 – 39 – Stand and sing

Break for text: “I hated my new clothes… like a man shaving his whiskers. The older girls laughed loudly”

I hated my new clothes: Move to 4 row formation, centered

Back row: Jess, Sara, Leah P, Talisa, Cat, Nikki

Row 3: Tenille, Makenzie, Sydney, Joanna, Robin, Jenny

Row 2: Brianna, Leah B., Colleen, Paige, Hayley

Front row: Kallie, Maria, Zoe, Shila, Carolyn

On the word “snatched”, reach out suddenly with right hand and then slowly bring it back to your side.

“The older girls laughed loudly” is the cue to start singing and move (M 40)

M 40 – move to V formation, angled toward the center. Tenille is the apex. In place by M 46. This position will be held until measure 68.

After “How was she to know that she was buying shaving cream and not toothpaste.” & Chord, move to checkerboard formation (same 4 lines as before, but very spread out side to side) Once in place, begin the sniffling sounds.  Fade out after “Sobs also carried through the room.”

Break for text: “The smile shrank from my face…as my stockings began to slide down my calves.”

“The smile shrank from my face” – Row 2 & 4 step forward into the gaps to make a two row formation. Then move to the “desk” formation and hold for text.

M 90 – 95 Move to the cafeteria table formation (two sets of lines, facing each other – Sops Stage Right, Altos Stage Left)

 Womanly Song of God

Practice the last 2 bars with clapping!

Fatty Legs Script Link

Hi everyone,

Click here to view the link to the Fatty Legs Script online!

Erin's Notes from March 1st

MNIOP – updated choreography (anything in red is new or changed) Almost full video

Fixed Snowdrifts :

Soprano

Sop 2 / Alto 1

Alto 1 / Alto 2

M 23 – 42 (first time) Hold hands. Move into a  ¾ semi-circle (igloo/tent) over the course of these measures – step-together every two bars (each step on the downbeat). Right foot, together. Left foot, together. 10 steps in total. Last step is in bar 38

M39 People on the ends turn to face the center

M 45 – 58 – Sway SLOWLY right to left (two bars in each direction) Come to stillness on the downbeat of 59

M 59 – 62 – Stillness. Release hands on the downbeat of 62.

M 63 – 67 (first time) Tiny steps backwards on every beat (People on the end, peel back a little bit to open the circle wider) *People in the back, do these steps on the spot.

M 63 – 67 (second time – immediately after the first time) Tiny steps on the spot on every beat

M 68 – 70 – Tiny steps forward on every beat. Last step on the downbeat of 71.

M. 73 – 76  (first time) When you sing, turn to face the audience and break the circle. (You should move in a cascade) Remain standing upright

M 23 – 42 (second time) Hold hands with whoever is closest (with at least one person). Drift back to a scattered formation near the center of the stage, same step pattern as before (10 steps total)

M 73 – 76 (second time)     1^st – stillness (still holding hands)

                                                2^nd – Look & lean to the right, small step with right foot – hold this position through the fermata (still holding hands)

M. 77 – 78 – Slowly drift back to a regular standing position, slowly release hands as you go (head comes forward over the last two beats)

M. 79 – 87 – Stillness

M 88 – Right shoulder back & down

M 89 – Left shoulder back & down (*5 beats)

M 90 – Step back with right foot

M 91 – Step back with left foot (past right foot)

M 92 – Step right foot to meet left foot

M 93 – 94 – Drift slowly to a standard spread out U formation. Spread all the way to the edges of the stage.

M 95 – End – Standing still in the U formation.

Go straight into SNOWFORMS (Alto 2As take the lead on the C)

SNOWFORMS – updated choreography (anything in red is new or changed)

0” – 20” – Standing in the U formation.

20” – 50” – Move to scattered formation.

55” – 1’55” – Starting on the Soprano entry, slowly drift backward towards an upstage left clump (A2s in the back of the clump, then A1s, then S2s, then S1s in the front). Maintain a low center of gravity, feet should glide along the floor, and arms should be engaged (imagine there are balloons under your arms)

On Mauyuk – People in the front row, do a bit of a lean forward, everyone else clump in behind them (85% - 90% clumped)

2’05 – 3’00” – Each section splits off from the big clump to form smaller clumps. Soprano 1s end up downstage right. Soprano 2s end up upstage right (slightly toward the center). Alto 1s downstage left (slightly toward the center). Alto 2s upstage left.  You should be still by the time the Sopranos do their descending Qanit line.

Text : “Father, Father, please Father…. Pleeeeease can I go to school this year?” His answer had not changed. On the first “Father” – move to two diagonal lines on either side of the stage, in a V shape. Sopranos stage right, Altos stage left.

3’00” – 3’35” – Remain in the V position throughout. Dialogue back and forth.

Text: “That is what the outsiders will do to you at the school.”  Pivot into two straight lines across the back of the stage.

3’35” – 4’40” – Remain in two straight lines.

4’40” – 4’50” – Altos take a large step forward and cross in front while Sopranos cross behind. Create two diagonal lines (mirror image of  3’00” – 3’35”, Sopranos stage left, Altos stage right)

5’05” – 5’15” – Move to your position on stage.  Create a channel that runs from upstage left to downstage right, with Altos on the upstage side and Sopranos on the downstage side. Right foot forward in a lunge, with left hand reaching back.

5’15” – 5’45” – Move your body into position and hold.

5’50” – 6’00” – Transition back to standing up straight.

6’00” – 6’15” (first time) –Hold hands. Create a ¾ semi-circle (similar to the igloo in MNIOP, but with Altos on stage right and Sopranos on stage left)

6’00” – 6’15” (second time) – You will be in the semi-circle

6’25” – End – Drop hands. Drift to the very edges of the stage (ideally in place by 6’40”)

Transition

-       Altos drone a low D until “My mother was silent”.

-       Text cue : It is not too late to change your mind Olemaun.” Altos refresh the low D. Sopranos tumble the chords from top to bottom (if your note is on a line, sing the D-based chord; if your note is in a space, sing the E-based chord) Finish at “…chance to say goodbye” and then sign the chord and hold until,“A priest approached and they walked away with him.”

Noviori Ani – all new information!

4 bottom altos repeat measures 3 – 6 three times, while everyone else holds the chord until cut off by Christina.

At the end of measure 12, return to measure 7 and repeat once (no whispering on the repeat)

Measure 90 – 95 – Add one extra repetition of the two bars

Measure 96 – add a pause over the third beat of the measure

At the end of 109, pause for text. Then repeat from measure 102.

Long pause for text at measure 119.

Repeat measures 120 – 125 on Christina’s cue.

Notes for Sun Mar 8

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the great rehearsal on Sunday. It's so amazing to see the blocking, music, and text all coming together while working with Lisa! We are making great progress!!!

Here's the plan for this Sunday:

1:15  Warmups
1:35  Noviori Ani Choreography
2:35  Fatty Legs Music
3:15  Break
3:30  Fatty Legs Music
4:30  Countdown Music
4:45  Recording Session - Countdown & sections of Nukapianguaq

So as you can see we are going to start tackling the choreo for Noviori Ani, and doing some detailed music work (Womanly Song of God, get ready!!) At 4:30 we will transition into a bit of music work on Countdown. Then we'll record the section of Countdown that will be used in our promo video being filmed on March 14th, as well as sections of Nukapianguaq that we will use in some promotional video materials for Fatty Legs.

Alto 2s are on snack!

FYI! XYE is performing at the Keshen-Goodman Library this Saturday, March 7th at 2:30 pm in celebration of International Women's Day! They are performing some music from their new show Here I Stand as well as a couple of songs from the fall. A few of our big Xara singers are joining them to help fill in the ranks. If anyone is free and wants to come, it would be so awesome to have you in the audience. It's FREE and should be less than an hour :)